


Moving Day

by EmotionalSupportPuma



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 20:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21684883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmotionalSupportPuma/pseuds/EmotionalSupportPuma
Summary: Athena and Janey prepare to move to Pandora, and it's not as easy as it seems.
Relationships: Athena/Janey Springs
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Moving Day

The day had finally come.

A year in the making by this point, or at least since the idea had first been pitched. Tentative and hesitant. Today everything clicked into place firmly and made the fact that they were moving a definitive reality. They were packing up everything that was going with them to Pandora and the rest would be sold, donated, or simply left behind. A few days more and their feet would be planetside. 

The whole process was routine for Athena by this point. How many times in her life had everything been uprooted? Several times when she worked for Atlas, another dozen while struggling to survive on Pandora, and then the fateful trip to Elpis. Boxing up what little possessions were of prominent use to her was as second nature as fighting had become to her. Normally it was just a matter of what weapons, armor, and survival necessities could be easily carried on her person. If things were stable enough that she had a semi-permanent home to look forward to then she could bring spare sets of armor and weapons. 

Which made today's work a little more foreign to Athena. For once, she would go to Pandora and...well, she most likely wouldn't be leading a nomadic life from job to job. They would find a home, a place for Janey to work (and hopefully something close by for her as well), and then they would  _ stay _ there. The idea of such a domestic endeavor left Athena thoroughly confused on how to approach her packing. What constituted being kept? Well, her own possessions were few and far between if they weren't for fighting or work. 

It didn't take long for her to finish sorting everything methodically into four piles; to take, to sell, to donate, and then one for things that didn't really fit into the other three. After that Athena glanced up from her work to see that most of the bedroom was the same, other than her own items. She had zoned out somewhere along the way and tried to recall if Janey had padded in and out of the room during the past couple of hours. 

"Springs?"

"In here!"

Athena pinpointed the sound of her voice as coming from the "living room". Janey's apartment was scarcely large enough to be considered one at all, just a bedroom, a room that doubled as a living room and a kitchen, and a bathroom. Oh, and a hallway closet, if that counted. When she rounded the corner silently, Janey was sitting on the floor with just one box beside her and the rest still folded up. It was scarcely a third of the way full. 

"You okay?"

Her girlfriend startled and then wiped at her face with the back of a hand quickly, "Huh? Oh yeah, yeah I'm fine."

Athena looked pointedly at the box and Janey followed her gaze in confusion. The lack of verbal communication on her part had always been present, but by this point her girlfriend had grown adept at reading between the lines of what she did. Janey looked back at Athena and then at the box, back again with a startled expression.

"You're finished packing already?"

She nodded curtly. 

Silence, as Janey fumbled with some of the items in front of her. Some old candles and various scraps of metal that she couldn't discern the use for from here. What had distracted her so much? Janey might be excitable, but surely even doing this little would have snapped her back into focus. She wasn't this scatterbrained unless...unless something made her very emotional.  _ Shit _ . Emotional wasn't something Athena was equipped to deal with. 

"Well, damn, wish I could be done with this that fast." Janey laughed softly, but her heart wasn't in it.

She shuffled her feet, "I could help."

Janey's face is hidden from her at the moment, but she doesn't miss the way her shoulders tense up. Some sort of boundary, perhaps, that Athena hadn't known about to avoid. Normally her girlfriend was overjoyed to have an extra pair of hands to help out on her many projects and endeavors. What was different about this time?  _ Moving. _

She had just assumed that Janey would know what to do today. Sure, there was little chance that she had moved around as much as Athena had in her life, but she hadn't lived on Elpis forever, right? It wasn't a topic they had broached before. Family and childhood were incredibly touchy subjects for Athena, that much could be figured out very easily. Janey offered up bits of herself in every conversation, but even she had stopped doing so as much when it fell into dangerous territory. She was so careful of Athena's own boundaries that she avoided topics that might make her girlfriend uncomfortable. It was rather endearing if she stopped to think about it, but left Athena floundering internally at times like this. 

After a moment Janey sighed, a sound so quiet that she almost missed it, and waved her over. Saved by the bell. Athena wasn't even sure how she would ask if Janey had ever moved before without it sounding awkward or accusatory. When she stopped beside her girlfriend, Janey was holding an old, twisted up piece of metal. Something about it was oddly familiar.

"Is that…?"

"The first OZ kit I gave you? Yeah." Janey shrugged and ducked her head as though embarrassed, "Guess I should toss the thing at some point."

"You kept all of ours?"

"Would it be more or less creepy if I said just yours?"

Athena was silent for a solid minute before answering, "Less."

"Good, because I only kept yours. It reminded me of how we met."

Her voice turned wistful at that, low and containing just a hint of...well, Athena wasn't very good at picking out and naming emotions. The best guess she had was something akin to bittersweet. When they met, things had been a little easier. Back before the fallout of the Vault, before Jack had lost his mind completely. Trying to keep on the downlow and off of his radar was part of why the two of them were so set on moving. Janey hated to sell the Emporium, but it was better this way. Guilt began to roll in her belly. 

This was all Athena's fault, wasn't it? Anxiety gnawed at her intestines like a ratch struggling to escape. If she hadn't insisted they move to Pandora, if she hadn't spurned Jack and risked being on his bad side, if she had stopped him before he- panic chased itself in circles as her breathing tightened.

"I can't decide what to get rid of." Janey lamented, unaware of the thoughts racing beside her, "Everythin' has a memory attached to it."

She didn't understand the dilemma, not completely. There were few items she owned that had memories worth keeping. Sure, everything could remind you of something, but why keep it just for that reason? For Athena the memories were rarely pleasant and it was easier to discard them. If the memories were going to stay with her regardless and make her feel bad, why keep the item? Her brain could do that job itself. Perhaps that was a sentiment that could be applied to nice things too.

"Do you need these things to have the memories?" 

Janey glanced at her in surprise, maybe because she hadn't expected her to continue the discussion. She wasn't known for her outstanding ability to bare her feelings to the world. 

"Uh, s'pose not."

"So, maybe you could only keep the things that have memories that...mean, uh-" Athena struggled to find what she wanted to say.

"The things that mean the most." Her girlfriend finished, reaching out to squeeze her hand, "That's a good idea. I can remember the little things well enough on my own, but some of the big things are worth thinking about every time I see 'em."

"Do...you want me to stay and help you? If not, I mean, I could go get a pizza or-"

Janey leaned in to kiss her nerves away, "I would very much appreciate the help, hun."

For a moment Athena stood frozen by the gesture, as the gears began to click into place within her head. Here was a situation involving delicate emotions that she had not only been able to make a suggestion for, but that had helped Janey to feel better. A smile crept along her face. Small and pulling at the corners, before growing into what was probably the biggest smile Athena had managed since...well, since she and Janey had first gotten together. It was strange, but not unwelcome.

When her girlfriend moved to put the old OZ kit into the "throw away" pile, Athena gently pushed it to the "keep" one. It was something with multiple memories now and they were ones she wanted to remember too. Ones worth keeping.

**Author's Note:**

> This has sorta been an on-and-off work for like three years now? I first started writing it when I was 19 and moving out of the house I'd lived in since I was 3. It was rough, I kept getting super overwhelmed and just...sat there crying most of the time. My girlfriend, who'd lived in a dozen states throughout her childhood, had to sit and help me through it. 
> 
> Jathena has always been a huge comfort ship for me since they remind me of me n my girlfriend of almost 6 years. Now I've moved another couple of times and ya know, having her with me each time made it easier. So, I've kept this in my notes working on it whenever I needed something to cheer me up. Weird to think it's actually done now lol


End file.
